The MDC interview was amazing SHe isn't willing to change herself for anyone and thats so refreshing to see :

When a model scout told 18 year old Ford's Crystal Renn, that one day she could be in Vogue, little did he know that the Florida native would indeed rock the pages of American, Italian and French Vogue in her own uncompromising style. That model scout suggested that Crystal re-size her body in order to fit the editorial ideal but it is by staying true to her natural body type that made her a sensation. Tune in as Crystal talks to MDC about how she broke editorial barriers after transcending the eating disorder that almost derailed her career.

MDC: How did this all start Crystal Renn?CR: I was 14 and I was scouted by an agency. I was really curvy. Didn't know anything about modeling. Couldn't care less, to be honest., at that point in my life. But the scout explained a little bit more about it. And something clicked. I thought maybe, this could be something for me. Then he goes "You have to lose like, 50 pounds"MDC: How crazy! That was nearly 40% of an entire body weight.CR: At the time I didn't know that. I had 43 inch hips and he said he wanted me to get to 33, so I thought, "Oh I can do that. I just have to eat healthy". He was talking about me getting into Vogue magazine. At the time I didn’t know the fashion magazines. So I picked up Vogue . Thought it was amazing and that this was exactly where I wanted to be and dropped the weight

MDC: So now you’re all "editorial"
CR: Yeah because one, now I'm really really thin and kind of awkward and I found that worked for certain clients.

MDC: Your body must have been in a metabolic riot!
CR: Oh my God! It pretty much screamed! Even though I was eating healthy stuff, all of a sudden I started re-gaining weight. Four months would go by where I didn't eat a single bad thing and my agents would say "Maybe you should go on a diet." I’m going, you must be kidding me!

MDC: There was nothing left to cut out.
CR: Exactly. I already had no sugar, no carbs, no fat. What's left? So my new agent suggests I try something different, like plus size.

MDC: By now you’re at Ford and shooting that stunning, stunning Italian Vogue story with Meisel.
CR: That shoot was such an amazing experience.

MDC: How did you get cast for that?
CR: I went on a casting for the plus girl in the Shape issue of American Vogue. I got in and Steven Meisel shot me for that. The next day he booked me for that Italian Vogue story.

MDC: Where does all that confidence and total comfort with yourself come from Crystal?
CR: I don’t know. It's a good question. When I first started modeling, it was NOT that way. Also I was hungry (lol). So now that I‘ve accepted my true body and could eat normally, it just put me at ease and made me more myself. I was always comfortable talking to people.

MDC: Any tips for those shy young models who walk into castings shaking from nerves?
CR: Oh I know about that. If you think the casting director is being mean or cold, don't take it personally or mirror that. Ignore it. Be yourself and kind of laugh about it all. Walk in feeling like "It doesn't matter if I get this job or not. I love myself. I love being in this business and I'm going to reflect that."

MDC: And to those models who feel like it's haute editorial or nothing?
CR: None of that matters as long as you believe in yourself. To be honest, you just have to know how to work it.

MDC: How do you work it on set?
CR: It depends on the inspiration of the shoot. For the Italian Vogue story Steven wanted an alien-esque feeling. So the idea was to be strong and commanding. But what makes me, me. What makes me different is a little touch of sexiness, so I tried to put a little bit of Crystal into the picture.

MDC: To create Alien Crystal (lol)
CR: Exactly. Alien Crystal. I'd say just try to be present in the shoot. Modeling has a little bit of acting, even if you're acting for the 1 second that it takes for the camera to click.

MDC: And your goal this year?
CR: If you were to ask me what would be the most amazing thing, it would be to shoot a major magazine cover or designer campaign.

MDC: And put some Crystal in the mix!
CR: Oh yes!

MDC: Thank you so much for the sit down. You're a delight
CR: Thank you for the opportunity!

I just came accross this thread by accident; I never knew her but she's gorgeous and an amazing model!!
I know larger women gorgeous in real life, but as far as fashion photography/ the runway is concerned, I had started to believe that model-thinness makes "clothes look better". But it's probably true that designers these days are simply making clothes suited better to thin women to begin with, unlike decades ago.

There are many areas where the plumper body is aesthetically preferred; belly dancing, pinup modeling, period theatre...hopefully the fashion world will become more diverse. Hey, she even makes me *want* to put on weight! So luscious...

I think she is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. When I first saw her pictures, I could just see she was someone who was genuinely comfortable with herself and she looks far better as a 12-16 than she does as a 4-6.

She's in the Nordstrom's catalog right now as well as Saks 5th Avenue. She's breathtaking. For those who said hideous, good lord You're insane. Luckily, I doubt she would care what you think.

I met her at a casting about a year ago. She's gorgeous in person, and didnt really stand out because of her size amongst the "skinny people". There was an article she wrote in Teen Vogue a while ago about her struggle to keep her weight down. She's fabbbulous. And I love her eyebrows. :p

I met her at a casting about a year ago. She's gorgeous in person, and didnt really stand out because of her size amongst the "skinny people". There was an article she wrote in Teen Vogue a while ago about her struggle to keep her weight down. She's fabbbulous. And I love her eyebrows. :p

That's funny, I was just arguing with someone about her eyebrows, LOL, I love them too.

quote Ohhh! Speaking of Crystal Renn... heard she'll be strutting her tush in Jean-Paul Gualtier show in Paris next week. quote

That's great! I heard the only shows she's done so far as a plus size model has been marc by marc jacobs, but I was never able to find pics. If anyone could...

I myself have never really liked plus-size models, but anybody who calls someone hideous is hideous themself I have a great friend who is the same shape as her, who is so insecure about her weight and trying to lose weight. She is beautiful at whatever size and it hurts me that she's trying to fit into society's standard of 'thin' and 'beautiful'. They don't go hand in hand .